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Social Petworking: Pets with a Message

Posted
on May 30, 2019

As a pet owner, have you ever noticed your phone’s camera roll is filled with pictures of your fur baby? Yeah. Us too. And they bring you such joy, you want everyone to see, love, share, react and enjoy your pet’s existence. No matter what they are doing. From stretching out their toe-beans, stretching out on their back for a belly rub, to chasing down a ball as fast as they can. There is something to love about capturing a moment of your pet just living it’s best life!

If you use social media, you’ve probably also noticed that some pets have their very own social media accounts. Run Those Dogs is quite active on Facebook and Instagram, sharing the happy (and tired) mugs of our furry clients. These photos get more likes than any other kind of post.

A few pets have built powerful followings in the millions across social media platforms. The king of all pet memes, Grumpy Cat, sadly passed away May 14, 2019 after having amassed more than 2.7 million Instagram followers and over 8 million Facebook likes. As Voltaire said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Not only do these large followings represents love from around the world, but they also mean these pets and their owners have the power to share powerful messages with their audience. Many of them are doing just that. Their messages include increasing awareness about pet health and safety, the importance of spaying and neutering and other issues important to the pet universe.

June is Social Petworking Month

Our fascination with pets means we pay more attention to cute cat photos than we do the news. That fact gives pets and their owners a voice for positive change. Social Petworking Month is a whole month dedicated to using social networking sites to help homeless pets find good homes. Posting images and information on these pets helps spread the word among your network that these animals are looking for a loving home.

During June, simply visit national pet adoption websites or the websites of local shelters, humane societies and rescue groups, like our favorite in Stanwood, NOAH Center, to search for pets that are up for adoption. All you have to do is click on specific pets and share their information on your social networking accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Anyone who is part of your network will see these posts. If they “like” or share these posts, more and more people will then see them and learn about pets who need homes.

We Can’t Forget the Cats too!

Some hashtags we like include #adoptdontshop which promotes adoption from shelters and rescue pets and discourages pet mills. You might also find social media contentment from #dogsofinstagram, #dogstagram #instadog/#catsofinstagram #catsagram #instacat/#petsagram #instapet.

Pet parents are uploading millions upon millions of photos and videos of their beloved pets. From time to time they’ll use hashtags that are worth sharing! You can use your time spent on social media for good. Watch for hashtags, accounts and posts that advocate for shelter animals, support medical expenses for a pet and promote safe, responsible pet ownership and then give them your like, share and follow.

You can find us on Facebook (@runthosedogs) and Instagram (@run_those_dogs). We’d love to have your likes, follows and shares. And please, please comment and share your pet photos with us there. We can’t wait!